In which we talk about things you Just Don't Bring Up in mixed company.

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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Spookytime - The Crow

The Crow, based on the comic by James O'Barr.

Some will say it's an action movie, but it's really horror. I'll give you action/horror if you prefer. It is a tale of revenge, witchcraft, magic and redemption. The film was very popular, but if you haven't seen it please check it out before the damn remake comes out. It tells the story of Eric Draven and Shelly webster, a couple who planned to marry on Halloween. They never made it to their wedding - they were brutally murdered the night before, on what is commonly referred to as Devil's Night. Eric is mysteriously brought back to life a year later by a crow that guides and goads him on a path of revenge/redemption. This movie is dark, as is the comic - its color pallette, subjects, and mood are creepy and interesting. Is Eric just a zombie killing machine, the angel of death, or on his own path to somehow atone for his self-perceived failure? You'll have to ride along and find out.

The movie stars Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, who died just before filiming completed. He was killed on set by a dummy bullet stuck in a barrel propelled by a blank cartrige during a scene. Sad, as he seemed like he would have been a rising star based on his performance. The movie's director and producers decided to finish the film and shot the few remaining scenes without Brandon, opting instead for a script re-write and a stunt double. I think it wound up being a nice tribute to Brandon as people finally got to see his acting ability.

When I saw this film in theaters I made a mental note of the firearms on screen. This movie stood out to me as it seemed to be a collection or "who's who" of some of the most popular firearms at the time. The list can be found here on IMFDB Now that I look back at the list it seems the director or prop master chose guns for characters that somehow reflected their status or perceived status in the gang or the stereotypical gun they thought the character should have.

T-bird the leader of the thugs has a pistol. Blued Taurus Pt-92 Top Dollar the overall leader of the gang has a pistol but its shiny, Stainless Pt-92 Fun Boy the gang's brash sadist uses a S&W model 29 The cop, Albrecht uses what else? A Bretta 92fs Pawn Shop guy has a Mossberg 500 Crusier of course Bad Guy that's supposed to know what he's doing has something exotic a Calico M900 and a Mossberg bullpup. Skank the guy who thinks he's in charge has a Desert Eagle Generic Henchman get MAC 10's and the skilled henchman get MP5's

So were they trying to stereotype the guns or did it just turn out that way? What do you think?